sarabyrd

Today, Silvio Berlusconi, media czar, former prime minister of Italy and bunga-bunga activist, was found guilty of tax evasion and keeping clandestine money coffers; he was sentenced to four years in prison.     Lube up, Silvio, Bubba just can't wait to show you how real men bunga-bunga!

I want to nominate the Turkish grocer/butcher across the street who very patiently put together a healthy mix of fruits for a mostly deaf and almost blind old geezer who couldn't see what was on display, named the price, took the money out of his wallet and put back the change (1 cent), made sure that the old guy had a good grip on the plastic bag and helped him across the crosswalk.

Topic split: Astra 2F and Astra 2E - New satellites arrive       Please avoid cross-posting, stick to what it says in the title, thank you.

Topic split: Astra 2F and Astra 2E - New satellite arrives       Please avoid cross-posting, stick to what it says in the title, thank you.

Today's comfort food was lasagne, and I wish I hadn't made such a large pan because it's sitting there seductively whispering, "Eat me! You know you want to!"   Beginner cooks, this is easier than you think.   Ingredients 1 large onion 1 small green pepper 1 green chili 2 cloves garlic 2 cans pizza tomatoes 50g butter 30g flour 500ml milk 250g thawed frozen spinach olive oil spices uncooked lasagne noodles     Tomato sauce Dice a large onion and a small green pepper Mince a green chili and two cloves of garlic Sautée this all in olive oil Add two small cans of pizza tomatoes Season with tarragon, marjoram, rosemary, paprika, pepper and salt Let simmer for at least half an hour, your sauce should look fairly chunky with a minimum of liquid   Roux Heat 50g of butter until bubbly Stir in 30g of flour Remove the pan from the heat, add 500ml of milk, stirring it in bit by bit until the mixture is smooth and satiny and still fairly runny Season with rosemary and nutmeg   Assemble 1 layer of lasagne noodles Cover with tomato sauce, dribble some roux on it, smooth with a spatula, drop a few spoons of spinach on the mixture Repeat twice (or three times, depending on the height of your pan), making sure that the last layer of noodles is completey covered with roux Sprinkle grated cheese on the top   Cook in a preheated oven at 200°C for app. 30 - 40 minutes   For carnivores: Brown mincemeat in a frying pan, sprinkle it on the layers along with the spinach. I find that adding it to the tomato sauce makes the sauce too oily.

When I left home this morning I picked up the newspaper on the bench next to the door and realized 10 paces further on that it was yesterday's that was lying there waiting to be thrown into the old paper bin (one of four garbage cans outside our door). Today's paper was on the kitchen counter waiting to be put into my bag.

Hi all,   Scogs and I are back from Cancun, and yes it was great! To all of you who offered to take care of my kitties, thank you all again, maybe we can work something out next time. I ended up taking the three (3, 8 and 15 yrs) to the Katzenstüberl belonging to a vet named Hannelore Koch. She is heavy on natural medicine etc. and really loves animals. When we brought the cats she gave them a thorough check-up, talked to them and jotted down any special information I had. We then took the cats to this well secured shed (possibly a former barn on a small scale) in back of the office building which has a ledge all around about 2/3 of the way up to the sloping roof, an upper floor taking up half the available space and loads of cat-trees, perching places, hideaways, ladders and cat-mint.   I should say there is room for about 15 cats there without their feeling crowded, the place is neither too hot or too cold, the radio runs all day long so the cats have a human voice around them. We picked them up today, well-fed, perky and healthy, and Hannelore told us exactly how each of them behaved, proving that she does keep tabs on them and remembers their behavior. They get fed and patted three times a day and do their cat-thing the rest of the time. I even have the impression that two of my cats are missing their new playmates   The costs are 8.50 Euro per day per cat but can be less if you have more than one.   Telephone contact is 089/74664131, address Plinganserstrasse 6 at the top of the Sendlinger Berg.   IMPORTANT: English is not her strong side!   Update: Hannelore Koch's Sendlinger Katzenstüberl has moved!   It is now in Deining, south of Munich/Grünwald, at Hochstrasse 8 (link to map), Tel. 08170-997 281. She may come around and pick up your cats for a separate fee if you can't bring them yourselves.